New Straits Times

TV: A starry time

VIMALA SENEVIRATNE http://sundaypeople.nst.com.my/CurrentNews/SundayPeople/article/CinemaTheatre/20090519164033/Article/indexhtml

Television host and Chinese serial star Mayjune Tan talks to VIMALA SENEVIRATNE about home and fame.

MAYJUNE Tan Bee Kuan, the host of e7, the only local Chinese “live” entertainment programme on television with a viewership of more than 300,000, looks me straight in the eye and calmly states: “I ran away from home when I was 17.”

Did I hear you correctly? “Yes,” says the 23-year-old. She pauses, drawing a deep breath before continuing:

“I packed up my bags and just walked out of the house without telling anyone at home. It was soon after my Form Five exams. I was living a very cloistered life. I needed to know what the real world was like. I needed to breathe.”

For Tan, who was a Star Idol Malaysian champion in 2007, there is no topic that is off-limits. She offers no apology for leaving home as a teenager. And bodes no bitterness or anger towards her parents, especially her mum whom she says was overprotective of her.

“I wasn’t wayward or anything like that. In a way it did me good because I became independent and learnt to rely on myself,” says KL-born Tan, the youngest of three siblings, who has since reconciled with her mum.

Tan has a huge following among her Chinese audience, having hosted the Star Live Concert 2007 and 2008 and the ntv7 Mid-Autum Concert last year.

She also recently acted in Exclusive and Lion Hearts, Chinese drama serials that have a combined viewership of about 500,000.

She has just completed shooting another serial, Welcome Home My Love, in which she plays the role of a daughter pretending to be blind.

Despite all the success, Tan is a down-to-earth, girl-next-door type.

“True, people recognise me when I go out but I am a very ordinary person, living a normal life. There is really nothing to be snooty about. I am a simple girl,” she says with a laugh.

Tan did not count on being a television star or a host when she was growing up. “I was happy to live my life, sketching, drawing or painting and concentrating on my piano classes and ballet but everyone else had great ambition for me.”

She leans forward and almost whispers: “Do you know, my mum wanted me to be a newscaster.” She giggles and shakes her head in disbelief. “Anything but a newscaster. That’s not me.”

When she reconciled with her mother two years after leaving home, she obliged her by continuing her formal education.

“At that time I was in a bad relationship and mum, like most mums, was concerned for me. She wanted me to go off to Australia to continue my formal education,” adds Tan who decided to compromise by enrolling for mass communication studies at Monash University, Sunway campus in Petaling Jaya.

Two semesters into the course, a friend told her about the Star Idol competition. “I just gave it a shot. After all, I had nothing to loose.” She won the contest beating 20 other finalists. “That was the end of my varsity education.”

She soon auditioned for and got into ntv7 to host a local Chinese programme. Her work schedules are tight and when she is shooting, the hours are often long.

As an actress, she takes her roles seriously and often does a lot of research into the characters she plays. To play the role of a blind girl in Welcome Home My Love, she spent several hours with a naturally blind person, to get a feel of walking around blindfolded. “It’s not as easy as it appears. It took me a lot of practice to perfect it.”

As host of e7, Tan has had the opportunity to meet and talk to some of the top Chinese and Hong Kong celebrities such as Stephen Chow.

“He was the most challenging of the stars I had to interview. What you see on the screen and what you see in real life are two different things. He is a very private person, not all chatty. As this is a live show, you have to think on your feet to engage him. Phew!”

She hopes eventually to have her own talk show. “Oprah and Chen Lu Yu (of China) are two of my favourite talk show hosts. That’s my ultimate career goal, to be like them.”

Although she keeps long working hours, she is not complaining. “I am a person living a very interesting life and, for now, I am content enjoying the success of my TV shows,” says Tan, who is preparing for her role in another serial called Pasar.

When she is off camera, she goes back to sketching, painting and blogging. She now spends more time with her parents and siblings. Tan also plans on resuming her piano lessons and hopes to take up voice training. “Not to sing, oh no. You’d run miles if I were to sing.” She laughs, catches her breath. “I was told my voice is too soft, that is why I have to work on it.”

• The 25-episode Welcome Home My Love begins tomorrow (May 18) on ntv7 at 10pm.

" True, people recognise me when I go out but I am a very ordinary person, living a normal life. " MayJune Tan